Seasons Of Change
by NeonLit
Summary: Konoha is a happy place to live in this time of peace, but of course the Uchiha and Uzumaki's can't help but find themselves in troubled. A collection of short to not so short stories based around a grown up next-gen cast and their families. Strong NaruHina overtones, as well SasuSaku and SaiIno.
1. Chapter 1: Time passes

_Short oneshot based off a friend's headcanon that as Boruto grows older, he looks less like Naruto and more like Hinata._

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Parents love to compare their children to themselves. It's a point of pride for a lot of parents to see themselves in the next generation and Naruto was no different. It excited him to no end to see his son's blonde hair as he ran around or the big grins on his face. Everything about him, from his big blue eyes that shone like big sapphires to his unruly hair brought a goofy grin to his face. Nonetheless, he could also see Hinata's looks starting to show on the toddler. But for the most, everyone would compare him to Naruto.

Upon seeing the child, Sasuke had laughed and commented that Naruto's clone technique was so embedded in him that it was showing in his offspring. Sakura had lamented on the fact that having shadow clones running around was bad enough, and now that he had a child who looked like him, things would be worse. Hinata had looked lovingly at her son every step of the way and encouraged him to be kind and happy.

When he'd turned 8, his hair was a little longer and he was running around causing trouble, just like his dad. Shopkeepers who had seen Naruto as a child smiled with nostalgia as the boy ran past, paint bucket in hand. Even Teuchi, his eyes weathered by age smiled when he saw the young blonde running around, imagining the boy running alongside his father. Everyone could tell that he was the son of the legendary Naruto.

Around the time he turned 15, people started to notice a difference in the boy. His hair was getting longer and shaggier than his father's ever had and his facial features had elongated. He was swiftly growing up and making a name for himself. Naruto often saw the shadow of his mother in him and it brought him to a chuckling laugh. The defined cheekbones and intense gaze was one that many recognised as a staple of the Hyūga. In fact, he'd even been mistaken for a girl from behind a few times, much to his chagrin.

When the boy finally grew into a man, his hair was long enough that when it was tied back in a ponytail, it reached down to the tip of his jeans. His eyes were soft and resembled that of his mother, his eyes glowing with happiness everywhere he walked. He, alongside Inojin, was drawing a lot of attention from the girls of the village, with their beautiful, slightly effeminate looks creating quite a stir. When Naruto watched him from afar, he was reminded of Hinata before their mission to the moon.

Nothing made the two parents happier than when their child, the man who'd grown up to be renowned as a powerhouse around the nation stood on the television. His confident smile and bright blue eyes, his kindness. Even though it brought giggles from people at his boy's height. He'd definitely inherited it from Hinata, being far shorter than his little sister who towered over him, almost as tall as her father.

He reflected both of them equally, and they couldn't be any prouder of him. He was the sum of their parts and whenever he stood up for the country they would share a smile and squeeze each other's hands. One day, a few weeks before his 28th, Boruto was helping his mother hang out the washing while Naruto fumbled around with his new phone. He glanced over the two people who had raised him and dipped his head slightly.

"Thank you for everything, mum."

"Thank you for everything, dad."


	2. Chapter 2: Heart

_[6/11/2015 6:28:16 PM] Olivia: It's Boruto over hearing Naruto go over Hinata's medical history_  
 _[6/11/2015 6:30:10 PM] Olivia: So he had no idea of her getting juken'd in the heart, her being stabbed by pain, and something else I was thinking of but forgot_

 _Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Hope you enjoy this new chapter~_

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It was a quiet day around the Uzumaki household. Boruto was sitting on the roof enjoying the morning sun, while Himawari trained in the garden with Naruto. It was a rare morning off for the Hokage so he was taking full advantage of it. Boruto didn't even live at the house anymore, but was down for hanging out with the family for one morning of the weekend. It was so quiet and perfect that you could have taken a picture and framed it.

Wondering about where his mother was, Boruto lightly lept off the roof and landed softly on the paving below. The house was quiet, oddly so. Normally you could hear some of the battered pipes in the walls whinging as Hinata turned on the water. He could hear the soft sound of music from upstairs and realised that she must be fiddling around with something in one of the rooms. Curious about what was keeping her from coming down, Boruto walked up the staircase.

The hallways were as familiar as ever to the man as he walked through them, fondly running his hand over the framed pictures that lined the walls and cupboards. There was a faint sound of things moving and he smiled as he leant around his parent's bedroom door to see Hinata straightening up the covers. "Hey mama." She turned around with a smile, her eyes warm.

"Hello Boruto, I'm just tidying up and then I'll be right down," she smiled.

"I'll help you out, it's not the same without you down there," he said, before helping her arrange the pillows. They were a nice purple and orange set that she'd made herself years ago, and even though they were showing their age, he knew his parents treasured them dearly. Hinata's hand squeezed her arm and she winced slightly. Boruto frowned.

"Mum, are you alright?"

She waved him off with her other hand, but didn't remove the clenched hand. "I must have strained something, I'm fine." She didn't look fine though. Her skin was clammy and she seemed to be panting a bit.

"No, you don't look that way; do you need to sit down?" He guided her over to the bed and sat her down. She looked dismayed at having her son take care of her.

"Oh, don't be silly, I've probably just got a bit of a summer cold," she mumbled dismissively, but Boruto didn't want to tell her she looked far worse than that. He pulled out his phone to call Sakura when suddenly Hinata slumped to the ground. His eyes widened and he fell to his knees, putting a hand on her chest. Her heart rhythm wasn't normal. Quickly, he dialled Sakura and held the phone to his ear with his shoulder.

"Boruto, what is it? Have you done something to Sakura?" There was a pause before a steely cold voice continued, "Uzumaki, if you've gotten my daughter pregnant, know that the next few moments will be your last. Using his free hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, Boruto explained what was going on.

There was a flash and suddenly Sakura was in the room with Sasuke. Both had a look of concern on their face. There was a clattering in the hallway as Naruto stumbled into the room, obviously curious to see what the commotion was all about. Sakura was already beside Boruto checking Hinata's airways for any obstructions. Her eyes grew concerned as she checked her pulse.

"We need to get her to the hospital; I can only do so much for her here, Sasuke, go and get an ambulance." She started to stabilise Hinata, calmly reassuring her, even though she wasn't conscious. Boruto felt numb. His mother, who'd always been the paradigm of strength to him, lay on the floor, in a serious condition. Naruto walked to his side, eyes brimming with tears. He reached out and took hold of her hand.

"It's okay, I'm here." Boruto wasn't sure what that was supposed to do, but then her fingers tightened around Naruto's and he realised just how close the two were. It was easy to forget that they'd known each other for a long, long time.

Sakura's eyes widened as she turned to Naruto, "I think it's something to do with her old injury from the Chūnin Exam, we need to get her in observation immediately." All of the blood from Naruto's face rushed away and he looked like a ghost. Sakura's eyes widened and she shook her head slightly.

"Don't blame yourself for this."

"How could I not? She only took that injury because I encouraged her!" His father's voice is filled with distress and Boruto wonders what could have triggered such a reaction in his father. Shook her head and was about to continue speaking, when the door swung open and Sasuke shunted the ambulance crew inside. He'd disappeared while his friends had been arguing, obviously hearing the wail of the siren.

There was a rush as the crew lifted Hinata onto a stretcher and pushed her out into the hall, Naruto tailing close behind. Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him dead in the eyes. "We'll meet you there, okay? Don't worry; she's going to be fine." Her eyes told a different story however. There was a deep concern in them, and Boruto felt his chest grow tight with worry.

He jumped down the stairs where he found Himawari with a panicked look on her face. "Boruto! What's going on with mama?"

"No time to explain, let's get to the hospital." He grabbed his little sister and pushed her into the doorway impatiently. Once out in the brilliant Konoha sun, he started to run as fast as he could, making sure to keep Himawari in his line of sight. He didn't want to run too far and leave her behind. It wasn't like she didn't know how to get to the hospital; the both of them had been injured enough times to warrant a few lengthy trips there, but with the situation as it was, he wanted to keep close.

The hospital was oddly quiet. The emergency ward was filled with the soft beeping of heart monitors and artificial respirators. Boruto sat in a chair next to Himawari, worriedly clenching and unclenching his hands. The quiet scraping of his leather gloves was oddly comforting and he wished that he had something to hit. There was a sudden bang and Boruto turned to see Mitsuki and Sarada running in, concern painted across both of their faces.

Sarada had basically grown up with Hinata as a second mother and Mitsuki had spent a lot of time around their house after becoming a member of his team. Both loved her dearly and were clearly distraught with the news, even the ever-calm Mitsuki. He raised a hand slowly in greeting, but there was no energy behind it. Sarada pulled him into a tight hug and Mitsuki awkwardly patted his head.

"She'll be okay Boruto; mama's the best when it comes to medicine after all!" Sarada was so bright that Boruto found himself becoming a little overwhelmed with emotions as she let go. Himawari joined them and hugged Sarada tightly, sobbing a little bit. Everyone went quiet as the door to the room Hinata was in opened and Sakura pulled off her gloves. The group crowded around her all hurriedly asking her questions before the woman raised a hand.

"Hinata's going to be fine. She had a heart attack caused by an injury she took in her first attempt at the Chūnin Exam." There it was again, the mention of some injury that he didn't know about. Boruto opened his mouth to ask and Sakura silenced him again.

"No, Boruto, it's a story that you father has to tell you, not me," she said, "He'll be out soon, he's just talking with her right now."

The group followed her inside the room where Hinata was propped up and breathing through a respirator, with the faint beep of the heart monitor and drip of the IV in the background. She looked gaunt and a shadow of her normal self. Naruto was leaning by the far edge of the bed, his hand clenching onto hers. The two Uzumaki children rushed to her side, both grabbing her hand, bringing the smallest smile to her faces.

"Oh, I'm so sorry you two."

Boruto fought off hot tears as he squeezed her hand, "Don't- Don't apologise, mama."

"Yeah," mumbled Himawari, her bottom lip quivering again.

As he wiped at his eyes, Boruto looked at Naruto, who looked exhausted. The whole time must have been nerve-racking for the Hokage. Typical that his day off would end with something like that. It didn't make Boruto envy him one bit.

"Dad, why is this your fault?" The question hung in the air and Hinata smiled, while Naruto's head hung. He went to say something, but Hinata cut over him.

"Let me explain, dear."

She slowly turned to face the young adults, not wanting to rip out her tubes. "As you know, Naruto didn't know me very well as a child. We'd see each other around the village and once he saved me from bullies, at the cost of him being beaten to a pulp and having his scarf ripped to pieces." Boruto nodded, he'd heard this much at least.

"The first time we really _met_ was in our first attempt at the Chūnin Exam. Naruto was stumped on the first test, a written exam. After all, he was confident boy but not very book-smart." Naruto grinned sheepishly, a little awkward about his past. "So I offered to help him cheat on the test, but he was so proud that he outright refused. I was amazed that he'd rather fail than cheat, even though we later found out that was the entire point of the test. Cheat and get away with it." She smiled fondly at the memory.

"After we both passed the second test, Naruto was pitted against Kiba in one of the preliminary matches. I watched on, torn between cheering on the boy I liked with my teammate. Afterwards, I gave him, quite shyly mind you, a small jar of ointment for his wounds." Naruto smiled and nodded.

"I thought she was this weird, quiet girl and she was being so nice to me. It was so weird at the time." Hinata laughed softly at the denseness of her husband before continuing her story.

"Then it came time for me to fight. I was paired up with my cousin Neji. We weren't on good terms at the time, with me being the disgrace of the Hyūga. I was too weak, too gentle, in their eyes to ever make a good heiress. So when he got the chance to beat on me as hard as he could, he took the chance."

"The worst part was his verbal beat down. He was going on and on about how your mother was a failure and always would be. Seeing her getting beaten and talked down to like that was too much for me to take, even if I didn't know her that well," Naruto said, taking over. "So I cheered her on at the top of my lungs, screaming for her not to give up. Maybe that's when I first got the inking of feelings towards your mother."

"So I kept getting back up. Even after he closed all my tenketsu, I didn't back down. I stayed true to my fledgling nindō and it infuriated Neji. He kept hitting me to the point where the instructors had to call him off for fear of him killing me. They rushed me out to take me to the hospital to treat the damage I'd taken to my heart."

"And when she left, I jumped down in the ring, and swore on Hinata's blood that I would beat Neji no matter what. I was a pretty dramatic kid, y'know?" finished Naruto, "The reason I blamed myself for what happened today is that, maybe, if I hadn't called out your mother's heart wouldn't have been damaged."

"But that's nonsense, because it helped me find my way in life. The same way that Naruto's promise to me is what helped him win the fight with Neji, despite the difference in their ability."

"I think the speech you gave to me at the training grounds before the fight helped more than anything Hinata." His parents happily look at each and Boruto is left in shock. He'd known that his mother was tough, but he'd never really seen it firsthand. To hear that she once fought to the point of sheer death for her father.

"To think you'd go so far for an idiot like dad…"

"Oi!"

"To be fair, Boruto, it wasn't the only time that I went that far for your father." Once again, all the eyes were on Hinata. Even Sarada and Mitsuki, who'd been entranced since the start had dragged up chairs to listen quietly to the stories of the past.

"Let me tell this one Hinata." Naruto looked almost pensive at this story. "This one I know better than anyone."

"When were a little younger than you, Himawari, there was a powerful organisation called Akatsuki threatening all of us. I had Kurama inside of me and they wanted to control his power, so they had to try and get me. They tried many times but failed. However, it was decided by the elders that it was too dangerous for me to remain in the village, so they sent me to train with the old geezer frogs and learn senjutsu." He sighed, eyes fondly creasing at the memory.

"But the leader, well, puppet leader, of the Akatsuki used this opportunity to try and draw me out by attacking at the one thing I loved more than anything in the world. This very village. He levelled it to the ground, and by the time I managed to get back, there was an enormous hole where the village had once stood. People were dead or dying, Kakashi had already passed on. I found Pain or Nagato as I later found out. I attacked him, showing off all the new techniques that I'd learnt and I put to good use. It wasn't enough."

Boruto was shocked. He knew just how powerful his dad was, and if that hadn't been enough, how had that beaten this Nagato?

"He pinned me down with these iron bars, shoving them through my arms, body and legs. It was useless to fight back, I was out of chakra and there was nothing I could possibly do. But then, I saw a beautiful girl fly down and land in front of me." Hinata looked bashful.

"Your mum was so strong that day. She stood up to a physical god and defended me, even though she didn't have a hope in hell. I was in shock. She was throwing her life away all to protect me. So I asked her desperately why she would do such a thing, and then, y'know, she said it." Naruto blushed a deep red, his shade contrasting with his bright yellow hair.

"I told your father I was doing it because I loved him." Himawari gasped, Boruto was mildly surprised, Sarada looked enthused and Mitsuki mumbled something about the poetic nature of it.

"So what did you say dad?!" exclaimed Himawari excitedly. Naruto looked extremely sheepish, while Hinata giggled softly.

"Nothing at all. Your father was too silly to realise just what I meant by love at the time."

Boruto was aghast. "You're the worst, you shitty dad!" Naruto looked softly offended but smiled.

"Yeah, I was pretty terrible for that stuff back then. Anyway, Hinata fought against him even though he was so much stronger, and then she used her moment of surprise to break some of the chakra rods holding me. But Nagato, the body he was using, was so strong. He threw your mother into the air, before slamming her back into the ground. Then he stabbed her with one of the chakra rods." Naruto's eyes darkened at the memory.

"It made me so mad I slipped straight into the jinchūriki's 6 tailed form and attacked Pain like, well, as a monster. I wasn't friends with Kurama at that time and he used his power in that way to corrupt me. I was so furious at what happened to Hinata that I just kept letting more and more of his power run through my body. I nearly died." His eyes were dark. "When I regained control and Kurama was locked down, I thought I'd killed Hinata in my rashness. Thank god I didn't." Hinata squeezed his hand with a smile.

"So was that the last time you risked your life for dad, mum?" Himawari was starry eyed; in awe from hearing just how awesome her mother was. Boruto was a little less forthcoming with how much he wanted to hear the story. There was something oddly heart-warming about hearing tales of just how brave his mother was. Sarada was alongside Himawari, looking like an expectant puppy, while Mitsuki tried to pass of his fascination with a nonchalant smile.

"Well, one of the other big times, not the last, but definitely the biggest, was during the Fourth Shinobi War. Your father had been hidden away to stop the Akatsuki from finding him and everyone else was fighting to stop them. That all changed when Naruto escaped and realised just what was going on. He flew to the battlefield like a bat out of hell and turned the tide. He made countless clones, and even though Kurama didn't admit it, used his 9-tails mode freely."

"We met up on one of the battlefields where he helped root out some of the creatures we were fighting against. He also told me that he could see the truth in my eyes, that sneaky boy." Hinata cast a sideways glare at Naruto who awkwardly laughed.

"Anyway, we were too slow to stop Obito and Madara from releasing the ten-tails and we found ourselves against an insurmountable enemy. They struck down so many of us and Naruto fought valiantly against all the odds. But then the worst happened. He didn't see a branch of the ten tails flying for him. So doing all that I could, I leapt in front of him, desperate to protect what was our only hope at the time."

"In doing so, my cousin Neji, yes, that Neji, leapt in front of me. As he died, he told Naruto how many lives were now in his hands, including my own. Your father couldn't understand why he'd done it and he told him it was because he'd once called him a genius. When Neji died, your father couldn't go on. Obito berated him, asking how it felt to know that he'd let everyone down by just letting his comrade's die. What's worse is that in that state, it seemed like he could reach your father's heart and warp it."

"So I slapped him." The sentence hung in the air and everyone's jaws dropped. Naruto grinned at all their expressions, laughing at how shocked even Mitsuki was.

"I told him again what he was fighting for. Told him what we were all fighting for was worth. How everyone there believed earnestly in his words and fought for them. I told him that if he gave up now, then he'd just disgrace Neji's sacrifice and how going back on his word would truly kill his comrades."

"So I took her hand, thanked her for always being by my side, and then we launched an attack once more. Without her, I doubt I would have had the strength to keep going on." Naruto and Hinata shared a smile, before holding hands once more. Hinata looked exhausted. There was a bang as the door slammed and Sakura came in, looking harassed.

"That's enough stories for one day; Hinata needs her rest right now. Out, all of you." In an attempt to stay, Naruto gave his best puppy dog eyes to Sakura but she was having none of it. "Not even you, Hokage. You might have the next few days off, but you're going to have plenty of time to share with your wife then. Now, out, I need to check that the surgery we did is healing nicely."

The group is pushed out into the hallway and the door slams shut behind them. Naruto sighs and turns to the children. "We didn't even get to tell the story about how I confessed. What a shame."

As a kid, Boruto had heard parts of the story but never the whole thing, "You guys didn't actually go to the moon did you?" Naruto grinned and shrugged.

"That's a story for another time, Boruto."


End file.
